The wonderful thing about God is that he knows exactly what we need, not what we think we need. This is evident in my gracious host family, the Murchisons. Prior to moving to Charlotte, I was so excited to meet them, and I felt so hopeful about this family that I would be living with for the next 9 months. A little intro to my host family: Fred and Katy (parents), Ivy (14) and Ella (12). Rounding it out with 2 pets, we have their dog, Lolli (She and I are pals) and their cat, Raven. (We are… still warming up to each other).
Imagine being asked to solve a physics equation. That’s likely what learning how to round numbers feels like for a third grader.
Every Monday, the Charlotte Fellows serve at Brookstone School’s after school program, and I’ve paired up with the third grade class. In all honesty, sometimes I struggle articulating why we round up or down when I’m helping third graders with their homework. Most of the time, I’m trying to get them to lower their voices or focus on their homework. However, the hecticness doesn’t mean sweet moments don’t happen.
Already in just six short weeks, it seems I have learned more about myself and what it means to be a man of God than I did in four years of college. It’s not that college was a waste of time, it’s just that the unique blend of community, discipleship, service, and time for personal reflection provided through the Fellows has been the ultimate answered prayer for me.
To start a journey, one must first be willing to leave. To leave the comfort and safety of home and risk the unknown of what is beyond. To leave friends and family, and move to a new city and into a house of strangers. To leave college, a place of independence and fun, to be replaced by a job and learning what “adulting” really means.
If you are facing some really tough times in your work right now, don’t let the termites of discouragement eat away at your soul. Realize that God wants to use the difficulties you’re facing to forge greater Christlikeness and spiritual maturity in your life. Your work is not an obstacle to your spiritual growth; it’s a God-sized opportunity for you to grow.
Beauty and the Bitch: Grace for the Worst in Me—oh yes, that was the eye-catching title of the book my counselor recommended to me during my time at the Barnabas Center. And it’s a book I want and need to read again and again. The title alone pretty much sums up a massive chunk of my experience as a Charlotte Fellow.
Every year the Charlotte Fellows take a mission trip to Chattanooga to work with an organization called Hope for Chattanooga, an inner-city, cross-cultural ministry. In the weeks leading up to our trip, we read through different quotes, Scripture verses, and thinkers on the topic of cross-cultural missions and the significance of racial diversity.
As we engaged with the material, my mind kept returning to a thought put forth by Richard Stearns, the president of World Vision. In his book The Hole In Our Gospel, he shares how his friend went through the entire Bible, cutting out pages that had any reference to social or racial justice. By the time he was finished cutting, there was barely any Bible remaining.
In the fall of 2014 I moved to Charlotte, NC to join the Charlotte Fellows program. Before that I had been living in Los Angeles and pursuing a career in sketch and improv comedy. While this may sound exciting and glamorous, I assure you it was not. The two years I spent in L.A. were extremely dark. When I finally moved away I was looking for something to fix me, to give me purpose, and to make me feel like I was a part of something really amazing. I could NEVER have predicted what the year had in store for me.
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